Desk top accessory holders have traditionally included a supply of paper, a receptacle for paper fastening means such as paper clips or rubber bands, and at least one writing instrument, such as a sleeve for supporting a pen in an upwardly or diagonally projecting position. Frequently, the sleeve includes a hinged or swivel mounting with respect to the base.
The base plate and compartment walls of desk sets are often produced by injection molding. However, because it has been considered difficult to injection mold, without use of a special cam-action mold, anything unless the sidewalls of all of its integral portions were vertical, the molds have generally just produced a hole, to which a separate metal or other ball and socket joint could be attached by a bolt and nut arrangement. The necessity for separate manufacture of the ball and socket and of labor-intensive assembly work substantially increased the cost of the final product. Likewise, use of a cam-action mold increases the number of manufacturing motions, decreases production rates, and increases costs. Cam-action molds are also expensive to make.